Chapter Ninety-Four: Zhou Zhaolin

The next day, Gu Jing went with Qin Miaoyu to the studio.

She often heard Qin Miaoyu talk about the place, so she was rather curious about it as well.

“I’m here as a major client to inspect your work. Treat me well. If I’m satisfied, then my wedding will be in your hands!”

Qin Miaoyu beamed. “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re satisfied!”

Xu Xiaoqi and Pei Yixue had both met Gu Jing a few times before, and they greeted her warmly.

When they heard Qin Miaoyu joking that she would be a big client in the future, the two of them became even more attentive. They personally poured tea, refilled water, and even massaged her shoulders and legs, determined to make sure Gu Jing came happily and left happily.

Gu Jing laughed until she was bent over. “All right, all right, you two—don’t exaggerate too much, okay? If you scare me off, that would be more trouble than it’s worth!”

“Hahaha, since she’s a major client, of course the service has to be top-notch!”

“That’s right. We have to make sure she hands the job over to us!”

“Fine, fine, I’ll give it to you, I’ll give it to you. Just stop already—your enthusiasm is too much for me to bear!”

At that, Xu Xiaoqi and Pei Yixue finally stopped, fully satisfied.

Gu Jing complained to Qin Miaoyu, “These two are practically insane over one order!”

Qin Miaoyu covered her mouth, laughing. “Of course. For a little studio just getting started, winning an order isn’t easy!”

No sooner had she spoken than there was a knock at the office door.

The receptionist came to say that yesterday’s client had arrived.

Qin Miaoyu glanced at Gu Jing. Yesterday’s client—wasn’t that Miss Jin?

Gu Jing caught the meaning in her look as well and said, “I’ll go take a look with you. Let’s see how this Miss Jin ended up falling for Zhou Zhaolin…”

Xu Xiaoqi and Pei Yixue exchanged a glance, both sensing that there was some story behind this.

But seeing Qin Miaoyu’s tacit acceptance, they did not ask anything right away.

The four of them left the office and headed to the reception room.

Inside, Miss Jin was holding the brochures on the coffee table and speaking to Zhou Zhaolin about something.

After a few sentences, Miss Jin grew a little unhappy, because she noticed Zhou Zhaolin was clearly distracted.

“Zhou Zhaolin, do you not want to marry me? Is that why you’re acting like this?”

Hearing the anger in her tone, Zhou Zhaolin hurried to soothe her. “No, no, sweetheart. I already promised to marry you, so of course I don’t not want to. You decide these things however you like. If you like it, then I like it too!”

Those few short sentences from Zhou Zhaolin were enough to make Miss Jin blossom with delight, and she immediately began talking about the wedding again.

Zhou Zhaolin seemed to be listening carefully, but in truth it went in one ear and out the other.

He had truly never expected that the wedding planning studio Jin Xi had chosen would actually be run by Qin Miaoyu!

Before, he had only heard Jin Xi say that she loved the decorations at a wedding she once attended, so he casually suggested she hire the same team. Jin Xi asked around among her friends and found the studio, and he had not paid it much mind.

Until just now, when he heard Qin Miaoyu’s name from Jin Xi’s mouth...

To this day, he had only ever heard one person with that name, and that person was Gu Jing’s friend.

Thinking back to that unpleasant breakup years ago, Zhou Zhaolin felt some regret.

After all, whether in family background or appearance, Gu Jing had been outstanding in every way. If she had not discovered certain things that were impossible to speak of, and if he had always had her support, perhaps by now he would already have been famous beyond measure.

But after graduation, he had never seen Gu Jing or Gu Jing’s friend Qin Miaoyu again, so surely it could not be such a coincidence.

Still, unease lingered in his heart. He could not help but say, “Sweetheart, why don’t we—”

The sudden opening of the door cut him off.

The moment Zhou Zhaolin saw Qin Miaoyu, he froze. So it really was Qin Miaoyu!

And yet, what drove him to despair even more was that standing beside Qin Miaoyu was Gu Jing!

After Jin Xi finished greeting everyone, she was just about to introduce Zhou Zhaolin when she noticed that his expression had turned extremely ugly.

She hurried to his side and asked with concern, “Zhaolin, are you all right?”

Zhou Zhaolin heard himself answer with great difficulty, “I’m fine...”

But Gu Jing said bluntly, “Miss, I think this gentleman doesn’t look fine at all. He may need to go to the hospital and get checked.”

Get checked for his heart and his brain.

Jin Xi thought Gu Jing was merely being considerate, and followed along. “Zhaolin, if you really don’t feel well, then let’s go to the hospital and have you looked at. Don’t let a small problem turn into a big one.”

Zhou Zhaolin suddenly gripped Jin Xi’s hand. “I really am feeling a little unwell. Why don’t we leave first? Let’s not disturb other people’s business.”

Gu Jing stepped forward. “Miss Jin, since your boyfriend isn’t feeling well, take him to see a doctor quickly. We can exchange contact information, and then we’ll stay in touch online.”

Jin Xi thought Gu Jing was also an employee of the studio, perhaps specially assigned to handle her order, so she took out her phone to add Gu Jing. Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhaolin used a sudden burst of strength and knocked Jin Xi’s phone to the floor...

“Zhaolin, what are you doing!” Jin Xi picked up the phone and found that the screen had already gone black from the impact.

“Sorry, my phone’s broken. I’ve added Miss Qin on WeChat, so you can have Miss Qin send you my business card.”

Gu Jing looked at Zhou Zhaolin with a faint, knowing smile and replied, “Of course, Miss Jin.”

Under her gaze, Zhou Zhaolin lowered his head and said softly to Jin Xi, “Let’s leave quickly!”

Seeing him like this, Jin Xi grew worried about his health and chided him, “I already told you not to work yourself so hard taking roles and endorsements. You need to eat on time too. Next time I’ll talk to Xiaoqian and have her keep an eye on you...”

Gu Jing abruptly cut her off. “Miss Jin, forgive me for asking, but who is Xiaoqian?”

“Xiaoqian is Zhaolin’s assistant.”

“His assistant? Miss Jin, I know a little about the entertainment industry. I’ve heard before about assistants getting involved in stars’ marriages. Celebrities, after all, usually have looks or financial standing far better than ordinary people, so...”

Jin Xi naturally understood the implication in Gu Jing’s words, but she firmly shook her head. “No, that won’t happen. I deal with Xiaoqian often—she’s a very nice girl, and she and Zhaolin grew up together as childhood friends. If anything were going to happen between them, it would have happened long ago.”

Looking at Jin Xi, Gu Jing could not help feeling pity. She seemed to see her former self—naive, foolish, cradling a heart that held the truth, yet being toyed with by two people with ulterior motives. And now, another woman had likewise walked into the same trap.

“Miss Jin, your boyfriend is sweating and looks weak. His health doesn’t seem very good. You’d better take him to a doctor right away and not delay.”

“All right, then we’ll go first. See you next time.”

Hearing that they were about to leave, Zhou Zhaolin could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. But then he immediately heard Gu Jing say,

“By the way...”

Zhou Zhaolin’s heart instantly jumped back into his throat.